


Open 21/7

by coolasdicks



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gen, Geoff the RVB Guy I suppose, Geoff the... geoff, Locked-In Grocery Store AU, M/M, Michael the tired college student about to drop out, what
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-17
Packaged: 2018-03-01 23:24:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2791499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolasdicks/pseuds/coolasdicks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“two strangers locked inside a grocery store at three am together au” with a faint, faint touch of soulmate au</p>
            </blockquote>





	Open 21/7

**Author's Note:**

> In celebration of me successfully executing a big-girl shopping trip for the first time, with no help. The total was 135$. Shoutout to sweet onions looking exactly like every other type of frigging onion
> 
> idea was from [this list of aus](http://spiderjockey.tumblr.com/post/105292513040/aus)

 

Michael’s fridge was empty and it was empty  _often_.

It wasn’t a big deal, as he had easy access to take out, but his guests weren’t as thrilled with Micky D’s. Ray, his old college roommate – ‘old’ as in a year ago – often bitched about the lack of options in his kitchen, but Michael knew Ray’s fridge was living in a similar fashion. He knew his friend well, just as he knew that Ray often visited solely for food.

It was pointless these days, but that didn’t stop Ray from complaining. Or visiting.

Eventually, Michael got sick of fast food, and found himself at the cheapest grocery store he could find. Usually, late at night.

And, oddly enough, he assumed all grocery stores were 24/7.

The lights began to dim suspiciously around two thirty in the morning. Earbuds snugly in place, Michael yawned, distracted by the ingredients label of a pill bottle. The isle was vacant and the atmosphere of the store was serene and quiet. Michael loved shopping at odd hours.

Cramming the bottle of rattling pain relievers back onto the shelf, Michael rolled the cart further down the pharmacy section, muffling his yawn with the sleeve of his oversized hoodie. He fully recognized he closely resembled shit, with his tangled curls and baggy clothes, but he wasn’t eager to return to his lonely apartment.

Employees of the store were calling to one another across the store, but Michael didn’t catch their words through his music. He didn’t see anyone as he rolled out of the pharmacy and frowned. The lights at the checkout lanes were off. Michael wheeled closer and took out the earbuds.

There was no one at any of the checkouts. Michael glanced around for an employee or perhaps a fellow customer, but even in the dimming lights of the store, he could see no one.

Swallowing around the sudden uneasiness, Michael stopped his cart and called out, “Uh, hello?”

He didn’t expect a reply, and none came. Michael’s stomach dropped.

“I did not just get locked inside of a grocery store.”

Abandoning his cart, Michael hurried to the doors and yanked hard on the handle. The door had some give but didn’t move from the frame.

“You have to be fucking kidding me,” Michael said disbelievingly, jerking on the door with near hysteria. “Who the fuck doesn’t check to make sure all of the customers are gone?”

Pressing his face to the cold glass, Michael huffed at the parking lot. There was only one car – Michael’s shitty Oldsmobile. It was parked in the furthest spot. Michael fisted his keys in his hoodie pocket, sorely regretting leaving his phone in the car in favor of his iPod.

“You have to be joking,” he hissed against the glass, heart thumping heavy in his chest. Was being here even legal? If he began to starve, would eating something from the candy section count as stealing?

Michael calculated the hours between then – 3:00AM – and opening time. He wondered if it was long enough to convince a court that his theft was the product of primal survive instincts to feed.

Back at his cart, Michael sorted through the items. It hadn’t been much – at least six boxes of mini White Castle cheeseburgers and multiple cases of Redbull. He bit his lip. Blow Pops could be paid for later, when he was rescued…

Fifteen minutes later – after perusing the isles and staring into the locked storage rooms, just in case – Michael found himself leant up against one of the checkout lanes, lollypop hanging from his mouth. The entry way to the store was chilled from the night air seeping in through the glass, but he wanted to stay in view of the window.

The building began to cool alarmingly fast in the Jersey winter. There were no bustling bodies or heating systems to warm the building. He cursed his luck and wondered what kind of negligence charges he could slam the store with when he was found frozen in a block of ice.

He clicked through songs on his iPod impatiently, knowing the battery was going to die within the next hour.

The sound of a toilet flushing was buried under his loud music, but the bathroom door flinging open nearly made him scream.

It was a man and he – he looked about as startled as Michael did.

They stared at one another. The man had a handlebar moustache and a blank expression. Finally, the man blinked and looked around, features scrunching up in confusion as he took in the dark lights and silence.

Michael scrambled to his feet and ripped out his earbuds. “You – what the fuck were you doing in there? Do you work here?”

The man looked behind himself, back at the toilet. He turned back to Michael as if the question had struck him dumb. “I was taking a dump.”

“Taking a dump,” Michael repeated numbly.

“Why the fuck is it dark in here? Did the store close?”

“It’s almost three in the morning,” Michael said shrilly. “They didn’t even do a last call or anything – they just locked the doors and left!”

The man’s jaw dropped. “Locked the doors?”

“What the fuck – how long were you shitting for?” Michael exclaimed. “I’ve been here for almost two hours!”

“I had my phone with me,” the man said shiftily, finally unsticking his hand from the bathroom’s doorknob and moving towards the store’s front doors. He pulled on the handles much like Michael had and cursed when they didn’t budge. He propped his forehead against the door and muttered into the glass. “I was playing Angry Birds, sue me.”

Michael’s head spun. “For two  _hours_? Oh my god. Please, at least tell me your fucking phone still works.”

Michael could see the draining of the man’s face, even in the dim lighting of the motion sensor lights.

“You have got to be fucking kidding.”

“Well, where’s your phone?” the man demanded, annoyed at being put on the spot.

Michael jammed an angry finger at the front windows.

“Well, that’s real fucking smart,” the man griped. “Why would you leave your phone in the car? It could get stolen!”

“Why are you taking two hour shits!”

“It was one hour,” the man shot back, running his hands through his hair and pulling on the strands. “Shit, she fucking told me the grocery store wasn’t open all hours.”

Michael scrubbed his face and turned his back on the useless asshole. He groaned, a loud and frustrated sound, before kicking out at the wall. “They’re supposed to make sure everyone’s out of the fucking store!” Michael yelled into the silent store.

“And what about cleaning?” the man interjected.

“Goddammit!” Michael yelled, kicking at the wall again. It did nothing but cause an ache in his big toe.

The man was quiet as Michael trudged back to his cart. Spinning and planting himself on the ground in his original position, Michael curled tight and unwrapped another Blow Pop.

The man trailed after him, holding a dead iPhone. Michael studied him, somewhat relieved that he was stuck with this man instead of a crying woman or a belligerent teenager. The man was tall, with broad shoulders and a little extra weight. It looked good on him, though, as did the tattoos that swarmed up and down both arms. His view of the intricate ink was obscured when the man shivered and rolled down his sweater sleeves.

Michael sighed. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Geoff, Geoff Ramsey,” the man replied on a similar sigh. He stuffed the dead phone into the back of his jeans and sat down next to Michael. “You?”

“Michael,” he mumbled. “This is the last time I ever come  _here,_ that’s for sure.”

Geoff nodded in vicious agreement. “Fucking seconded. Griffon said she’d never heard of it and that I should just stick with the Whole Foods by the house. Man, was she right or what?”

“Wife?” Michael guessed.

Geoff paused and snickered. He offered no explanation.

Michael tried again with a tinge of frustration. “Girlfriend?”

Geoff’s giggling just rose up a pitch. He shook his head, muffling his laughter behind his lips. “No, no, Griffon is my best friend. She has a girlfriend. We all live together down the street from here.”

“Did you walk?” Michael asked, reminded of his lone car in the parking lot.

“Biked,” Geoff cringed. “It’s cold as dicks out, too. All in all, tonight was a myriad of terrible decisions.”

“Won’t Griffon worry when you don’t come back?”

Geoff side eyed him. It answered his question, and Michael wondered what kind of guy Geoff was.

“How old are you, kid?” Geoff asked after a pause.

“’Kid’,” Michael scoffed.

“What university?” Geoff pushed.

“How did you know I’m in school?”

“You have that general vibe,” Geoff grinned. Michael didn’t want to know what that meant.

“I’m at the community college down the road, but honestly I’m probably going to drop out. I’m part-timing as an electrician’s student, and soon I can do full-time.”

Geoff nodded thoughtfully. “I wasn’t one for college, either,” he said cryptically, and left it at that.

A silence descended once more, but Michael wasn’t quite as comfortable with this one. Assuming the store opened at 6AM or so, they still had another few hours to wait. The man wasn’t exactly volunteering information, and Michael couldn’t stand awkward silences.

“So you aren’t dating anyone?” he asked. When Geoff gave him another side-glance, he realized it came off like he was interested. Michael didn’t rescind the inquiry and waited for an answer.

Geoff cleared his throat and straightened slightly.  “Nope, I don’t have much time outside of my job to meet people.”

“What do you do?” Michael asked curiously. The man looked enigmatic and mysterious – Michael couldn’t picture him in any regular profession, especially one that took place behind a desk.

Geoff smirked, clearly amused by the question. “I voice a character for a web series, but mostly I just play videogames.”

Michael sat back on his haunches, frowning. The man was clearly fucking with him. “Right,” he drawled.

“What about you?” Geoff said, deftly turning the conversation back onto Michael. “Any high school sweethearts still around? College flings?”

“Not unless you count Ray, my roommate from last year who ate all of my food and then stole my Xbox,” Michael smiled ruefully. Geoff’s eyes brightened, interest piqued.

“Ray?” Geoff said with a suggestive eyebrow waggle. Michael laughed.

“I wasn’t actually – stop leering at me, you old pervert, we were just roommates. I was kidding.”

It was Geoff’s turn to physically pull back. His expression fell by a fraction, but it was quickly consumed by faint annoyance. “I’m not old.”

“Alright, sorry, you  _middle-aged_ pervert.”

Geoff’s eyes bulged. “I’m  _definitely_ not middle-aged! What are you – like, eighteen?”

“I’m twenty-two!”

Geoff grinned. “And I’m only twenty-nine. So shut the fuck up.”

Michael rolled his eyes, smothering a smile in his sleeve. A shiver racked his frame and he grunted. The excitement from the playful banter with the strange died down, and Michael’s frustration with the entire situation came back in a forceful wave.

“God, they sure keep it fucking cold in here,” Michael grumbled, burrowing further into his hoodie. He tugged the hood over his head and pulled the strings taunt.

Geoff hummed in noncommittal agreement, absently watching the windowed doors. They fell into a lull of quiet. Michael’s head ached as he studied Geoff in his peripheral vision. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but Michael couldn’t dampen the urge to fill it.

“What video games do you play?” he ventured softly.

“Peggle,” Geoff said instantly. “Angry Birds, uh… lots of Halo.”

Michael brightened. “I love Halo!” he said excitedly.

Geoff didn’t seem to mind his over-enthused reaction. He mirrored Michael’s grin. “You play online at all?”

“Yeah! I’m pretty good, but Ray always kicks my ass,” Michael said.

“What else do you play?” Geoff asked.

“Pokémon,” Michael said and laughed at the disgust that crossed the face of his new friend. “Not a fan?” Geoff shook his head with a pout. “Eh, fuck you. Oh – I also  _love_  the Zelda games.”

Michael withdrew his arms from his hoodie nest and pushed up the sleeves, revealing the few tattoos he had. “And Gears of War,” he acknowledged, nodding his head to the one on the inside of his forearm. Geoff appraised the work. “I’m prob’ly gonna get more, but money’s tight. Plus the aftercare is a pain in the ass.”

Michael had hoped it would goad Geoff into agreeing and perhaps showing off some of his own tats, but Geoff just nodded mindlessly and continued to look at Michael’s arms and hands. Michael jammed them back into his hoodie and under his shirt, warming his cold fingers against his chest.

“I see you have your own ink,” Michael said unsubtly.  

Geoff seemed startled into snorting. “College kids are just as blunt as I remember,” he said before reluctantly rolling up his sleeves. Michael hungrily eyed the markings, picking out some of the more goofy tattoos versus the careful designing. Geoff seemed to favor thick, pitch-black swatches. There were even small symbols on the back of his hands.

“Did those hurt?” Michael asked, looking at Geoff’s strong fingers.

“They all hurt,” Geoff grinned. “But yeah, those hurt a little more than usual. Right on the bone.”

Michael nodded appreciatively. He was almost disappointed when Geoff once more covered up the beautiful sight that was his arms.

Unwilling to let the conversation die again, Michael mulled over his thoughts for something to throw out there.

“Why’d you laugh when I asked if Griffon was your girlfriend?” he decided on.

Geoff chuckled. “We get asked that a lot. It’s just funny because we’re both gay.”

Michael’s stomach felt as if it’d been microwaved. Somewhere low in his chest, his heart fluttered. “Oh?” he said, because he was a smooth guy.

Geoff glanced at him. “Dude. Have you seen dudes? Or a dick, for that matter?”

Michael’s laugh probably sounded strangled and completely fake, but he spoke through it anyway: “Dudes. Yeah. Dudes. Dicks, too – I have indeed seen a dick. Mine, mostly, but. Dicks. Dicks are good.”

“Good?” Geoff questioned.

“I – This conversation suddenly went very wrong,” Michael choked, heat rushing high on his cheeks. Even his embarrassment couldn’t overtake his excitement, however, and he smiled. “Sorry, I probably sound loony. I’ve been stuck in here a long time, okay?”

Geoff laughed easily. “No problem, man. You look like shit, anyway. How long have you been up?”

“Not that long, I’m just a piece of trash,” Michael answered just as easily. Geoff laughed, and the sound made Michael want to make it happen again.

“Well ‘piece of trash’ looks good on you, Michael,” Geoff said sincerely and – wow, Michael definitely wanted  _that_ to happen again. He almost said, _Another compliment, please,_ before pursing his lips tight.

“Thanks, I think I make it work,” he said glibly instead. “What about you? Is this the third all-nighter you’ve pulled in a row, or what.”

“I give you a compliment and you insult my cute, droopy eyes,” Geoff said with mock insult.

“Cute droopy eyes,” Michael repeated on the cusp of a wheeze. “You look half-asleep!”

“That’s because I am,” Geoff said, sticking out his tongue. Michael stared at the small, pink muscle and cursed his blooming infatuation with this man. For a messy and tired twenty-nine year old, he was outrageously adorable.

“It looks…  _okay_ on you,” Michael said teasingly. He laughed at the way Geoff’s face whipped towards him, a playful glare burning in the eerily light orbs. Michael wondered distantly what color Geoff’s eyes were in the sunlight.

“I take back my earlier statement,” Geoff said, turning his nose up. “You, by any means, aren’t cute or cherubic in that oversized hoodie with dumb curly hair and cherubic features.”

Michael felt a thrill go up his back. Was Geoff –  _flirting_? He didn’t want to believe he was projecting his own interest onto Geoff – or worse, misinterpreting Geoff’s joking banter. But fuck – this felt like flirting.

“I don’t even know what cherubic means,” Michael admitted.

“Baby-faced,” Geoff said.

Michael scowled. “Alright, Droopy.”

“Droopy?”

“Like the dwarf,” Michael said.

Geoff blinked at him before bursting into laughter. “There’s no dwarf named Droopy! You’re probably thinking of Dopey.”

“That fits, too,” Michael snickered.

“What does that make you?  _Bashful_?” Geoff snorted.

“Maybe I’m Happy,” Michael said smugly.

“Maybe you’re Grumpy,” Geoff returned and laughed at his own joke. Michael rolled his eyes.

 “I’m only grumpy because we’re stuck in this stupid, freezing, piece of shit grocery store,” Michael growled. He stifled a yawn with his hoodie. “God it’s so fucking cold. I’m going to be an icicle by the time the sun finally rises.”

Geoff hesitated for a moment before offering, “You want my sweater?”

Michael glanced at him to see if he was joking. He wasn’t. “What? I’m not taking your sweater, dude, you’d be blue in minutes.”

Geoff stared at him for a few moments, face blank. He seemed to be chewing over whatever he was thinking about before he made another suggestion: “We could huddle for warmth.”

The idea sparked a memory in Michael’s mind, something Lindsay always mentioned. “Like penguins,” he muttered.

“What?” Geoff asked, bewildered.

Michael sniffed, shivering again. The thought of snuggling with Geoff made Michael mentally sweat. “Uh – I don’t think we’re to that point yet. When my fingers start to fall off, I’ll consider it again.”

Geoff harrumphed. Regret nearly caused Michael to belay his denial, but Geoff probably smelled  _really good_ and Michael was a cuddle whore when he got into it. He was already hoping to perhaps ask Geoff out for coffee – as friends, probably – when this was over, but something about sharing body heat made Michael want to shake.

“Alright, fine,” Geoff said with a shrug. “But if you keep chattering your teeth at me, I’m going to use them to gnaw through the door.”

Michael smiled. “That’s a fucking great idea, Geoff, good thinking. But who will pay for damages? Neither of us –” Michael gestured to his old hoodie and Geoff’s ratty but comfy sweater – “look like we can afford it. Do you think this will be counted as the store’s fault? Maybe they can pay for it.”

“First of all, what do you know? Maybe I’m loaded,” Geoff said mysteriously. “Maybe I’m a millionaire. Second, hell. Fucking. Yes. The store is paying for this. They locked customers in the store overnight! What the fuck?”

“We could sue,” Michael nodded.

“We… aren’t going to sue,” Geoff said slowly. “But we can demand free food – Blow Pops and beer, I say.”

Michael laughed. “Nothing beats Blow Pops and beer. Well, maybe sex, but Blow Pops are a close second.”

“Was that supposed to be an innuendo?” Geoff grinned.

“It wasn’t, but it can be,” Michael lipped back.

Geoff’s eyes livened before dipping down to Michael’s lips. Seeming to catch himself, Geoff quickly looked away, still smiling.

Michael hadn’t imagined that. Breathing deep, he thought to himself,  _Please, God, let him want to bang me_.

“You want one?” Michael offered after a pause. Geoff’s eyes snapped back to him, a strangely shocked expression plastered on his face, and Michael belatedly realized he’d just inadvertently offered a blowjob. “A – A Blow Pop. Do you want a Blow Pop.”

“Yes,” Geoff said with strange intensity. Michael was fairly sure Geoff was answering two questions at once as he dug around in the bag for good flavor before handing it to Geoff. “Thanks.”

Michael hummed and tried to rub the heat from his cheeks. He opened his own and sucked on the cherry red tip, savoring the tartness of the sucker.

Lollypop still in his mouth, Michael turned to Geoff, intending to ask a question. Geoff was already staring at him. They locked eyes for a dramatic moment before Geoff glanced down at Michael’s lips wrapped around the sucker and looked away. He muttered something that sounded like, “Good grief.”

Jittery with nerves, Michael just laughed. His confidence in Geoff’s interest in him was building, slowly but surely.

They spent a few minutes in quiet. For once, Michael didn’t try to fill it, content with letting Geoff have his personal space. Michael, after all, had his own thoughts with which to dance. He tried to not be obvious in his staring at his new friend, but Michael was fairly sure Geoff knew.

“Do you have a watch?” Michael eventually asked when it felt like a reasonable amount of time passed.

Geoff pulled back his sleeve. His eyebrows rose. “It’s 5:45.”

Michael’s heart jumped. “What? Really?” he said.

“That was fast,” Geoff said with a large grin. “Time flies, you know?”

“Yeah,” Michael said. His teeth chattered on the single word. He ground them together to prevent the noise from happening again. “It’s still dark out.”

“Welcome to winter in Jersey,” Geoff laughed. He furiously rubbed at his arms for warmth, abruptly energized by the time check. Michael pondered how truly quick the time had passed.

Though he would be grateful to be back in a heated building, Michael couldn’t help but feel saddened that he and Geoff would soon be parting ways.

“Hey, Geoff,” Michael said without knowing what he was going to say.

“Yeah?”

“Uh…” Michael hesitating, scrambling for something to say. “Where you really just playing Angry Birds on your phone in there?”

Geoff’s eyes glittered. He cracked a grin that looked ghostly. “I wasn’t in there that long just playing on my phone. Griffon and her girlfriend wanted some time alone, if you know what I mean.”

Michael nodded thoughtfully, though he questioned Geoff’s judgment when it came to grocery stores. “So you went shopping.”

“Gav was busy,” Geoff shrugged.

“Who?”

“Friend of mine,” Geoff said, though he seemed to entertaining a different train of thought. A faint smile fell on his lips and Michael felt his heart drum with agitation aimed at himself. He wanted to be friends with this stranger, to have regular conversations with him. Unrealistic, considering the circumstances. Would it be odd to ask for his number?

They sat in silence for some time. Michael contemplated listening to music once more, but he didn’t want seem closed off. In fact, he was open to any exchange – it was Geoff who was turning cold. The older man was quiet and pensive, but Michael wasn’t sure what had been internalized during the course of their conversation.

Fifteen or twenty minutes later, the sun began to crack like an egg over the horizon. The store was facing the sunrise, though it was blocked by miles of urban terrain. Nevertheless, there was something wondrous about the arrival.

The chill that had woven into their bones began to fade slowly. Michael unraveled from his hoodie. Geoff rolled up his sleeves. Michael didn’t even have time to discreetly stare at his arms, because within minutes of the sun’s appearance, a car pulled into the parking lot.

Geoff was the first to notice it. While neither men had felt like sleeping, Michael had managed to doze away the last remnants of the night with his chin on his chest. A hand roughly pushing at his shoulder jolted him awake.

“Look, look! A fucker finally came to work!” Geoff exclaimed, climbing to his feet within seconds. He pulled Michael up and turned the sleepy college student to face the front doors, where a man dressed in an employee uniform was exiting his car.

The man noticed them immediately, mostly due to Geoff’s hopping up and down at the front window. Paling, the man sprinted forward, fumbled the keys, and unlocked the door.

“Oh my god,” the man said nervously. He was bald and short – and now, sweaty. His eyes were bugging from his head as he began to question Geoff, who was buzzing with energy. Michael swayed on his feet, tired and drained from the experience. He didn’t follow the conversation, but caught the man’s parting words, “Stay here while I call my manager’s manager!”

Geoff turned to Michael with a smile. It was a worn pull of the lips at best, but his eyes crinkled nevertheless. Michael returned it without much thought and wondered if he made a more or less pitiful image.

“I have to say,” Geoff said crookedly. “I never thought that would be something I’d experience. At least we have the story, huh?”

Michael briefly fantasized about retelling Ray the entire ordeal, but his version would heavily focus on Geoff rather than the locked-in aspect. He nodded.

“We just have to talk to the manager and then we can go home,” Geoff said, obviously having picked up on Michael’s weariness.

Michael sighed in relief. “A fucking  _bed_ ,” he moaned. Geoff laughed.

“You should probably get your phone,” Geoff said, looking at Michael’s car. “Ray is probably worried about you, or whoever your roommate is now.”

There was an underlying meaning in there somewhere. Michael shrugged. “Ray’s fine. No roommate now. I live alone.” The ‘ _unfortunately’_ was implied. Geoff quirked an eyebrow. Michael licked his lips. “That’s why I was grocery shopping past midnight, for really cheap things like Blow Pops.”

“Ah,” was Geoff’s reply, which was a little underwhelming. The otherworldly ambience present through the night was beginning to give way to exhaustion. Somewhere along the line, Geoff had sequestered himself away in his mind, doing little other than introspecting.

“It was fun, Geoff,” Michael said, patting the older man on the shoulder. He could feel the warmth of Geoff’s skin under the layers of fabric. “Almost freezing to death in a run-down grocery store. I have to say, I’m disappointed we never had to huddle like penguins for warmth, but I’ll take what I can get.”

For a moment, Michael feared he’d spoken out of turn. But then Geoff’s piercing gaze softened into something incredibly fond.

“You were the one who declined,” Geoff said with no hint of heat. He grinned toothily.

“I make bad decisions when I’m cold and tired,” Michael pouted. He looked at Geoff and broke into a smile. “But it was nice meeting you, even if it was right after a massive, hour-long dump.”

Michael held out a hand. Geoff took it and shook it once, hard, squeezing a little too tight, fingers still frigid.

Geoff pulled him into a hug not seconds later, and that was  _much_ warmer. A large hand patted Michael on the back, and for a moment it was what Ray called a ‘bro-hug’, but when they began to depart, Geoff’s hand seemed to linger, as did his warmth.

Michael’s suspicion was confirmed when Geoff halted halfway into the departure and studied Michael’s face with an unbalanced intensity. Something wrapped around Michael’s heart and squeezed. It might’ve been a lung.

“We should keep in touch,” Geoff said suddenly. With the words, his entire aura seemed to deflate ten inches, as if he’d been holding the simple sentence on his breath for hours. His eyes – which turned out to be strikingly silver in the sunlight – thawed.

Michael’s heart leapt onto the back of his tongue. “Yeah,” he said quickly. “Yes – definitely. Coffee, maybe?”

“I’m more of a dinner kind of guy,” Geoff said with a thinly veiled wink. Michael smothered a shit-eating grin.

“As long as it’s not in a grocery store, we can do whatever you want.”

**Author's Note:**

> come give me sappy, angsty, and i guess "fluffy" AU ideas for anY SHIP over at [my tumblr, spiderjockey](http://spiderjockey.tumblr.com/)


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